Canadian Musician - March/April 2018 | Page 78

SHOW CASE If you are an unsigned Canadian artist and would like to be featured in Showcase, visit www.applyforshowcase.com. Submissions are free - all you need is a Reverbnation account with a high-res photo. You can check out tracks from our Showcase artists via Canadian Musician on SoundCloud. Visit www.canadianmusician.com/soundcloud for these and many more fresh sounds! By Ken Kelley MAURA WHITMAN What: Pop Where: Halifax, NS Visit: www.maurawhitman.com One of the brightest voices in Canadian pop music today belongs to Halifax’s Maura Whitman. Grow- ing up, she accompanied her father and brother in performances at local churches and coffee houses. Before long, she was writing her own material. Since the release of her uplifting debut single “Spread Your Wings” in 2015, Whitman has shared a number of other tracks, the most recent being “Extraordinary,” which will soon be accompanied by a music video. A formidable talent at just 17 years old, Whitman has already shared the stage with the likes of Gordie Sampson, Neon Dreams, and other top East Coast acts. Fusing hip-hop, reggae, rock, and pop music, Jamaican- born Poor Boy hasn’t yet become a Cinderella story, but his latest mixtape, Times Are Hurting, may see his fortunes change for the best. Born into poverty, Poor Boy immigrated to Toronto at a young age and found music was the perfect medium to help him stay out of trouble. His latest release is an ambi- tious 20-track offering, bringing together his unique style of music and lyrical delivery with comedic skits intended to help diffuse the tension of his early-life struggles. While Poor Boy is earning a growing audience at home in Toronto, he has also begun capturing the attention of international audiences with airplay across Australia and the U.K. TYBUR What: EDM, Techno Where: Vancouver, BC Visit: www.reverbnation.com/tybur 78 • C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N Although there never seems to be a lack of Canadian talent in the pop, country, and rock worlds, less attention goes to artists in the realm of EDM and techno music. Last year was a prolific time for Vancouver resident Ty- bur, with two releases that earned him airplay in the U.S. as well as in Europe. Though we are still in the early days of 2018, the year ahead is shaping up to be just as busy for Tybur with the launch of his label, BYS Music Canada, coinciding with the release of Temple, a four-song EP on which Tybur more than capably shows why he will be a force to be reckoned with. POOR BOY What: Rap, Hip-Hop Where: Toronto, ON Visit: www.reverbnation.com/ poorboy6